|
Barry has written numerous plays for adult and young actors, and been commissioned for specific projects by various institutions. His plays Departures and The Wedding Guest won awards, including the Phyllis Anderson Prize, in honor of the wife of playwright Robert Anderson (Tea and Sympathy). His original scripts, listed below, are available for a reasonable royalty.
In addition to his dramatic writing, Barry has authored a juvenile biography of Sigmund Freud, as well as articles and reviews in Dramatics, Storytelling, Teaching Artist Journal, and Storytelling, Self and Society magazines. He has been commissioned for writing projects by the California Humanities Council, the San Diego Hebrew Home, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, and the W.E.B. Dubois Society, as well as Professional Speakers Tony Alessandra and Jim Cathcart. Barry is available for story, speech, and technical writing, as well as coaching.
Scripts
Click on the linked titles to view a pdf with synopsis, character list, and excerpts from any script below. If interested, please write to Barry for more details.
- After Ever After (3m, 6f; 35-40 mins.) What happens after the fairy tale is over? Eight familiar characters gather for a class entitled "Get Real," and learn more than they had ever expected about life in the real world -- and themselves.
- On Poseidon's Pride (6f, 4m; 40-45 mins.) Ancient myths meet modern Greece: kids on a Greek cruise face off among the ruins, while Athena and Poseidon threaten to rock the world, in parallel stories that intersect and collide.
- Over Loki's Laughter (9f. 7m; 45-50 mins.) Ancient myths take to the modern slopes: in the Norwegian Alps, a boys v. girls rivalry picks up speed, while Thor and Odin take on the trickster Loki, god of Fire, and the stories run simultaneous courses to head off looming calamity.
- The War Between the Kates (7-10f, 7-10m) During a class study of the Civil War, two BFF's -- Katherine Lee and Katelyn Grant -- let a misunderstanding pull them apart, and soon their rift takes on the metaphorical trappings of the historic conflict.
- The Case of the Mixed Metaphors (5m, 6f; 40-45 mins.) Film Noir meets Language Arts as Private Eye Nick Sharp takes on the mystery of a writer who has lost the ability to produce a solid metaphor, and is led through a parade of idiosyncratic suspects in a whodunit of metaphoric proportions!
- Remotely Controlled (8 or more; 35-40 mins.) An ensemble piece exploring the pervasive effects of television on children through a series of delightfully imaginative scenes, with parody, exaggeration, zaniness, and a little lesson: the message is the medium!
- A Skunk's Tale (11 roles; 40-45 mins; original music) In this fable-like evocation of childhood culture, Saskia the Skunk arrives at a new school only to meet rumors and mistreatment from the other animals. Soliloquies and original songs reveal the inner psychology of inclusion, isolation and anger; in the end, all realize that they are, so to speak, 'only human'.
- Chillin' in Skillsville (flexible) - A collection of nine scenes that present study skills and success strategies for middle and high school students through the use of metaphors from contemporary urban and popular culture. The pieces can be presented as a collage, or individually. Includes "Graduation Idol" (the importance of AP classes), "The Race" (strategies for test-taking), and "E-Cupid" (balancing school and romance).
- If Men Traded Recipes (2m, 2w; 40 mins; HS, college or adult) – Inspired by George S. Kaufman's 1920's play If Men Played Cards As Women Do, this one-act challenges 2 actors and 2 actresses to each play a man and a woman. It's a gender-twisting satire in which the men sound like men but act like women, and vice versa, as four couples divide for an afternoon of football-surfing in one house and a tear-jerking movie in another. Simple to stage, delightful to follow, and revealing on the ways we think about gender roles in society. Write for details.
Additional Scripts:
- Lewis and Clark's All-American Wild West Traveling Road Show – a madcap look at the westward wanderers through songs, scenes and jokes.
- Daddy-O's Dancin' Daughters – a playful modern disco adaptation of the traditional tale of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses".
- Spider.com – A contemporary satire about a computer-obsessed child who gets caught in a cyber-web.
|
